Hong Kong

Encounters 2023

<p><em><span style=""></span></em><span style="font-size: 24px;"><em>Gravity<br /></em>《重力》<br /></span><span style="font-size: 24px;">2018-2023</span></p>

Ben Brown Fine Arts 布朗畫廊

Awol Erizku 安沃．艾力克

English

普通话

粵語

<p>Born 1988 in&nbsp;Gondar<br />Lives and works in&nbsp;Los Angeles</p><p>1988年生於貢德爾<br />現於洛杉磯生活及工作</p>

<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><em>Gravity</em><br />2018-2023<br />10 x 5 x 10 m<br />Oxford fabric, PVC</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></p><p>Curatorial Statement:&nbsp;<br />I am Alexie Glass-Kantor, the curator of the Encounters sector for large-scale sculptures and installations for Art Basel Hong Kong 2023. Usually presented in the halls at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, this is the first time we present our first public, offsite project, here at Pacific Place. The work you see here is by renowned international artist, Awol Erizku, presented by Ben Brown Fine Arts, who represents the artist. This is supported by Swire Properties, Official Partner of offsite Encounters.</p><p>This work – entitled <em>Gravity</em> – is 10 metres high. Though originally made in 2018 for his exhibition ‘Slow Burn’ at Ben Brown Fine Arts in Hong Kong, it has never been presented in public until now. Here, in Pacific Place, the work offers us a gift – a moment in which audiences can come together. As people pass through this bustling, transitory intersection, an unexpected encounter with <em>Gravity</em> encourages a break from course or one’s intended destination. The work’s playful sensibility stimulates wonder, delight, and community-building, bringing us together to hold presence after time spent apart.</p><p><br />Artist Statement:&nbsp;<br />Hello, my name is Awol Erizku. I’m a Los Angeles-based conceptual artist, and I welcome you to experience my work: <em style="background-color: initial;">Gravity</em>.</p><p>In my practice, I address issues of race, identity, politics, and cultural history, while drawing from references spanning diaspora-ed culture to the art historical canon.</p><p><em>Gravity was </em>inspired by Ancient Egypt’s King Tutankhamun, a symbol of divine omniscience and ancestral wisdom, who exerts unprecedented influence on the world spanning from antiquity to present. His image is both ubiquitous and appropriated throughout art history – something I connote with the inflatable nature of the work you see here. King Tutankhamun’s image continues to be used in popular culture as a paradoxically singular and vacuous emblem for an intricate and complex culture and history – one which often remains misunderstood, unknown, or even erased.</p><p>Inside <em>Gravity</em>, you’ll see various objects I’ve collected from around the world. I’ve placed these with reference to the cultural and historical exchanges that have guided and are still guiding our sense of the world. For me, this work is a celebration of humanity, and our collective respect for one another.</p><p><span style="font-size: 16px;">《重力》<br />2018-2023<br />10 x 5 x 10 米<br />牛津布，PVC</span></p><p>策展人話語：</p><p>我是 Alexie Glass-Kantor，2023年巴塞爾藝術展香港展會「藝聚空間」展區的策展人，策劃展區內的大型雕塑和裝置。過往，我們只會在香港會議展覽中心的展廳呈現這些作品，這是我們首度走出展會，在太古廣場展出的公共場外項目。眼前的作品是由布朗畫廊代理的著名國際藝術家安沃．艾力克創作。此作品由「藝聚空間」場外展區官方合作夥伴太古地產支持。</p><p>這件名為《重力》的作品高達10米。雖然最初是為了他在香港布朗畫廊舉辦的2018年展覽「慢慢燃燒」而創作，但直到現在才首度公開展出。在太古廣場內，作品帶給我們一份禮物&mdash;&mdash;觀眾可以趁這個時刻相聚。當人們穿過這個熙來攘往、轉瞬即逝的交叉點時，與 《重力》的意外邂逅促使人們暫時忘記原訂路線。作品中的玩味激發了好奇、欣喜和群體的凝聚，讓我們在片刻的分離後再次相聚，憶起彼此。</p><p>藝術家話語：</p><p>大家好，我叫安沃．艾力克，是一位來自洛杉磯的概念藝術家，歡迎體驗我的作品：《重力》。</p><p>在創作當中，我處理了種族、身份、政治和文化歷史等問題，同時橫跨離散文化和藝術史學說。</p><p>《重力》的靈感源於古埃及法老圖坦卡門，他是神聖而全知，代表著祖先智慧的象徵，跨越古今，對世界產生了前所未有的影響。我以眼前的充氣裝置意指他在整個藝術史上的無處不在。圖坦卡門法老的形象持續在流行文化中被誤解、被抹去，甚至不為人知，這個人物對人們來說既珍奇但又無從稽考，象徵了錯綜複雜的文化和歷史。</p><p>在《重力》中，你會看到我從世界各地收集的物品。我將曾經或仍然引領我們世界觀的文化和歷史交流結集。對我來說，這項工作彰顯了人性和彼此間的集體尊重。</p>

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Hong Kong

Awol Erizku 安沃．艾力克

Ben Brown Fine Arts 布朗畫廊

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